Tag Archives: Deuteronomy 23-25:19

April 3, 2015 Bible Study

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 12:12-14

    This proverb reminds me of a business man who emphasized to his subordinates the importance of telling the truth. He did not do so on the basis of it “being the right thing to do”, even though that was why he did so. He made the point of telling them that if what they said was the truth, they would not have to worry about what they had told the customers (or others). This proverb reminds us that those who use lies and distortions to stave off trouble will, in due time, find themselves trapped by the lies they have told. The righteous need not fear such a fate because they have been honest in their dealings.

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Psalm 75:1-10

    I thought at first that there was not much to say regarding this psalm when I realized there is an important point here that I can expand on slightly. The psalmist tells us that it is God alone who judges. The follow up being that it is not up to me (or to you) to judge the actions of others. No, our job is to proclaim what God has done. Perhaps if we do our job, rather than trying to do God’s job, the wicked will turn from their ways and and receive God’s forgiveness as we have.

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Luke 10:13-37

    When the 72 returned to Jesus they were excited because even evil spirits had submitted to them in His name. Jesus told them not to rejoice that evil spirits submitted to them. The important thing to do was to rejoice that our names are registered as citizens of heaven. We are not sent to seek out and confront the demon possessed and the evil in this world. We are sent to heal the sick, restore sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, most importantly, to preach the Gospel. But the demon possessed and the evil in this world will seek us out and find us, just as they did Jesus. When that happens, He has given us authority to rebuke them in His name. We have no power over demons, spirits, and the powers of evil in this world, but Jesus does. He has given us the authority to speak in His name and, as long as we are serving Him, they have no choice but respond to the power He has delegated to us. However, we must never forget that it is not our power to which they submit.
    I was not planning on writing on the parable of the Good Samaritan, except that I realized that Jesus conclusion to that parable echoes what I wrote (or perhaps the other way around) about yesterday’s passage from Deuteronomy. Having described the actions of the Good Samaritan, Jesus tells us to go and do likewise. Once more we receive the lesson that it is not enough to not do wrong, we must actively do right by caring for those in need, even if they might otherwise be our oppressors.

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Deuteronomy 23-25:19

    This is a difficult passage for me to find a lesson in because the commands seem (to me) to go all over the place. There are several here which fit together for a lesson I understand, but others which I do not understand. The lesson I understand: Treat the poor and the weak with justice, make provisions for them to be able to meet their needs. It is worth noting that the instructions for the latter are not pure charity. Rather, the command is to be less than completely efficient in harvesting your crops so as to give the poor and needy the opportunity to acquire what they need to survive by gathering what you missed. Even the command to pay laborers their wages each day was about not maximizing your wealth at the expense of those who had no other choices.

April 3, 2014 Bible Study — Go And Do Likewise

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 12:12-14

    The wicked desire what others have acquired through wicked, or other means. The godly are satisfied with what they have earned through their own hard work. The wicked say things which trap themselves into situations they wish to avoid. The righteous have integrity and tell the truth, so are spared such problems. Those who combine honest, wise words with hard work receive many good things.

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Psalm 75:1-10

    God will bring justice to the wicked at the time He has planned. The proud, who boast of their greatness, and the wicked, who act in defiance of God, will face His judgment. God will have the final say. He decides who rises to prominence and power, and He decides who will fall to be remembered no more. God will break the strength of the wicked. I will praise His name for all of the wonderful things He has done.

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Luke 10:13-37

    When the seventy-two disciples Jesus had sent out returned they were excited and happy because demons had submitted to them when they spoke in Jesus’ name. Jesus replied that He had given them (and us) power over the enemy. The only name we need to know in order to command demons is the name of Jesus. He has given us power over demons and all of the servants of Satan. However, let us not rejoice in the power He has given us over demons. Rather, let us rejoice that God has chosen us for admittance to heaven. It is not my place to seek out evil spirits to drive forth, but if I come across them as I serve God’s will, He has given me the authority to send them away.
    I am really struck by the importance of not getting caught up in exercising power over evil spirits. We have the passage where Jesus downplayed that power followed by the account of the Good Samaritan. Jesus had a conversation with an expert on religious law where they agreed on the two most important commands. The first is to love God with everything that is within us, every aspect of our being: our heart (emotions), our soul (who we are and how we act), our strength (physical ability), our mind (our thoughts and our mental ability). That command is linked with the second: to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan to explain who is meant by “our neighbor”. The answer is that “our neighbor” is anyone in need whom we might encounter as we go about our business. When we encounter people in need, Jesus tells us that we are to do whatever is within our power to help them.

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Deuteronomy 23-25:19

    We need to give thought to the consequences of our actions. Are we using our position of power, or wealth, to make life more difficult for someone in financial hardship? If someone is counting on the money we owe them to meet their living expenses, let us pay them promptly. We should not accept the tools that a workman needs to do the work which provides his living in order to settle a debt (or anything else that someone might need in order to live and have the possibility of prospering). In all of our business dealings let us take care to provide value in exchange for the value we receive.

April 3, 2013 Bible Study — The Good Samaritan

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.

Daffodils in bloom
Daffodils in bloom

Deuteronomy 23-25:19

     Today’s passage is a series of miscellaneous laws for the Israelites to follow as they live in the land that God promised them. Laws against charging interest on loans and regulating what can be taken as security against a loan. Laws against taking advantage of poor and destitute laborers. Laws about marriage and divorce. Laws against prostitution. Laws requiring that justice be given to foreigners living among them and to orphans. Laws requiring honest scales and accurate measures. All in all a list of laws designed to build a just and honest society. Some of them seem a bit strange, but most of them make sense when you understand the nature of the culture among which the Israelites lived.

Hyacinth about to bloom
Hyacinth about to bloom

Luke 10:13-37

     Today Jesus finishes commissioning the seventy-two disciples He sent out to preach. He condemns three cities in which He preached for their lack of receptiveness to His message. Jesus tells the seventy-two (and us, I believe) that anyone who listens to them, listens to Him and anyone who rejects them, rejects Him. And anyone who rejects Him, rejects God. When the seventy-two returned they were excited because even evil spirits submitted to them in Jesus name. Jesus responds that He saw Satan fall from heaven and that He had given them authority over all the power of the enemy. However, they should not rejoice in their power, but in the fact that their names are written in heaven. Jesus then prayed a prayer of thanksgiving. He thanked God for concealing His plans from those the world thinks wise and clever, from those who think they have it all figured out, and instead revealing it to those who had a childlike faith.
     I think there are some important things to pay attention to in this passage. The first is that when it comes to spiritual warfare against the powers of Satan, Jesus has given us authority over Satan and those spirits which serve him. We do not have power over them in our own right, but we have the authority to command them in the name of Jesus. There is nothing complicated about it or requiring special knowledge. All that is required is faith in Jesus and in God. Those spirits will attempt to threaten us and intimidate us, but all we need to do is ignore their threats and call upon the name of Jesus and they have no power over us, nor any ability to enter into our lives. Another important point in this passage is that we should not get caught up in thinking ourselves wise and clever. God works through the simple-minded and those with childlike faith. Whenever I think about this I think about the man born blind whom Jesus healed. When the wise religious leaders belittled him for his faith in Jesus he replied, “I don’t know whether he is a sinner. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!” I know this, I was blind and now I can see. That will ever be my response to those who tell me that they are too clever to believe in Jesus. There is one other point I want to make. Whenever I start to think that I am wise or clever, I remember this passage and what Jesus says about God’s plan being concealed from those who think they are wise and clever. Then I begin to wonder if I really want to be wise and clever or if I would rather see what God’s plan for me is?
     Luke then tells us of the religious expert who one day asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus replied by asking him how he interpreted the law of Moses on this. The man replied that it said he must love the Lord God with all of his being and his neighbor as himself. To which Jesus said, “Exactly, do that and you will live.” The man then asked Jesus, “But who is my neighbor?” The man was looking for the limits on who he had to love as himself. Jesus then told the story of the good Samaritan. In the story a priest and a religious acolyte passed the injured man by without helping, but a Samaritan, a member of a group that was noted by the Jews of the day for failing to live up to the law, went out of his way to help the man. With this story, Jesus told us it was more important to care for those in need then it was to be counted by society as among the righteous.

Another hyacinth about to bloom
Another hyacinth about to bloom

Psalm 75:1-10

     Yesterday’s psalm called on God to rise up against those who have chosen to be His enemies and oppress those who serve Him. Today’s psalm tells us that God will do so at the time that He has planned. It is God who judges. God lifts up one for honor and brings another low in humiliation. He has prepared a cup of judgment which He will force the wicked to drink to its very dregs. I will praise the name of the Lord because He will bring judgment against those who do evil by bringing harm to those over whom they have power.

Poinsettia shows new growth
Poinsettia shows new growth

Proverbs 12:12-14

     The proverb tells us that thieves are desirous of obtaining the wealth of other thieves while the godly strive to acquire their own wealth through their own hard work. This tells us a lot about both ourselves and others. Do we expect to meet our needs and desires through our own hard work or do we expect to do so through goods that others have produced?
     The wicked are trapped by the lies that they tell while the righteous never need to worry about what they said, since they told the truth. Speaking wisdom brings many benefits and hard work brings about reward.